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Joint Statement: Withdrawal from Restraint and Seclusion Task and Finish Group

15 October 2025
Sam Nelson
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Categories: News

15 October 2025

“The Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) and the Children’s Law Centre (CLC) have yesterday written to the Minister of Education, Paul Givan MLA, reiterating serious concerns which resulted in their withdrawal from the Department of Education’s Restraint and Seclusion Task and Finish Group, as notified to his department on 13th August 2025.

“It is extremely disappointing that neither organisation to date has received any acknowledgement or response whatsoever in relation to our correspondence which confirmed our immediate withdrawal.

“Both NICCY and CLC, in good faith over many years, have made consistent and significant efforts to support the Department in this extremely urgent policy area with a view to implementation of long-awaited systemic change. Change which will prevent human rights abuses against children and protect education staff from legal liability by enabling child rights compliance in education settings.

“It was the shared understanding of all interested parties that both legislative reform at the earliest opportunity and the production of child rights compliant statutory guidance would be the vehicles through which positive change would be achieved. This is no longer the case.

“We have repeated our concerns to the Minister and emphasised a number of key recommendations which the Department had itself previously made and reported upon in March 2022, including the need for immediate  reform of Article 4 of the Education (NI) Order 1998 which permits the use of force by adults against children in education settings for the purpose of “maintaining good order and discipline”. This outdated legislative provision is incompatible with the fundamental human rights of children in a modern society.

“Through our work with children and families, NICCY and CLC are aware that potentially unlawful force has been used disproportionately against young, disabled children, who may have limited or no ability to tell their parents and carers what has happened to them. It is truly shocking in light of all of the reports and evidence available, and given all the support that has been offered, that the Department has broken its promises and allowed both children and education staff to be left in this extremely vulnerable position.

“NICCY and CLC have also called for robust recording, reporting and monitoring procedures alongside regular, mandatory, standardised training for staff in education settings, with a clear commitment to financial resourcing to facilitate full and effective implementation of the statutory guidance. 

“As matters stand, we have had no assurances that the most recent draft guidance or associated processes will guarantee the most basic children’s rights protections, or that education staff will be protected from potential legal liability when faced with decisions about restrictive practices, including use of force against children in education settings.

“Despite having taken all reasonable measures that we can to assist the Department to date, NICCY and CLC have lost all confidence that this process will lead to child rights compliant change. In a situation which may very well regress children’s rights, we can no longer remain part of the Group or any connected process.

“We urge the Minister to reflect upon all of the work that led to his Department’s recommendation in March 2022 for legislative change and ask that he honours the commitment to bring forward reform without delay.  It is his responsibility, in co-operation with others, to ensure that every child is safe and protected, valued and supported.”

CLC Gives Evidence on Restrictive Practices in Education Settings

22 May 2025
Sam Nelson
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Categories: News

22 May 2025

The Children’s Law Centre (CLC) presented evidence to the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Education Committee, calling for urgent legislative reform to end the harmful use of restrictive practices – including restraint and seclusion – in education settings.

Watch the Full Committee Session

The evidence session, supported by a detailed written briefing, highlights how current practices in some education settings are breaching children’s human rights and disproportionately harming disabled children, particularly those with autism, intellectual disability and communication difficulties.

The evidence, presented by Rachel Hogan, SEND Specialist Legal Adviser at CLC, strongly asserted that no child should be restrained in an education setting without strict legal safeguards and that no child should be subjected to seclusion in an education setting.

Yet, in Northern Ireland, outdated legislation remains in force and the statutory guidance which had been promised for the protection of children from harm has not been finalised. This creates a dangerous vacuum and places the most vulnerable pupils at serious risk of avoidable harm as well as leaving staff who support them without essential knowledge and skills to enable child rights compliant practice.

Read the Written Briefing

The CLC written briefing outlines a number of key concerns:

  • Article 4 of the Education (NI) Order 1998, which empowers staff to use “reasonable force” on children in a range of circumstances, including for the maintenance of order and discipline, is outdated and incompatible with equality and human rights standards.
  • There is a lack of clarity around the banning of seclusion in all education settings.
  • There is no mandatory training for school staff on how to minimise and eliminate restrictive practices.
  • NI remains behind other jurisdictions, despite repeated calls for action from parents, professionals and international rights bodies such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Convention on Persons with Disabilities.

The Children’s Law Centre is urging the Department of Education to:

  • Immediately repeal Article 4 of the 1998 Order and introduce children’s human rights-based legislation and guidance.
  • Ban seclusion outright in all education settings.
  • Ensure mandatory, standardised training for all school staff.
  • Implement clear recording, monitoring and reporting mechanisms.
  • Work with the Department of Health to ensure joined-up, cross-departmental policy and guidance.

Every child has the right to feel safe, supported and respected in education regardless of their disabilities or other protected equality characteristics. Legislative reform is long overdue. Without it, children’s rights will continue to be violated and staff left unsupported.

Read the BBC NI News Coverage

Restraint and Seclusion Recommendations Welcome, Implementation Essential

25 April 2022
Sam Nelson
No comments
Categories: News

25 April 2022

The Children’s Law Centre (CLC) has welcomed a report by the Department of Education reviewing the use of restrictive practices in education settings. The report makes six recommendations, including repeal of Article 4 (1)(c) of the Education (NI) Order 1998 and outlines the need for statutory guidance.

Legal experts at CLC also welcomed the recognition of children’s rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) within the report, as well as the collaborative work undertaken to consult with stakeholders. A key issue at this stage is the extent of the legislative reform required to ensure compliance with human rights standards within education settings.

Special education needs and disability expert, Rachel Hogan, said: “I would like to pay tribute to the small group of committed individuals who have consistently built pressure to address this issue. That includes, most notably, children, young people and the parents and carers of the children and young people affected. This is what happens when the people affected have their voice heard by decision makers and should be an important lesson on how good, evidence-based, decisions can be made.

“There can be no doubt that the existing framework and guidance has led to instances where the human rights of vulnerable children have been seriously violated. The grievous impact this has had on the children affected, as well as their parents and carers, has now been brought into the public domain and acknowledged.

“There has been a notable lack of consistency in approach between education and health and social care settings and this must be fully addressed. Children should have equal protection from the unlawful and disproportionate use of restrictive practices regardless of the setting they find themselves in.

“The recommendations in the report reflect the direction of travel we need to take to protect children in education settings. This includes the urgent need for legislative reform, clear statutory guidance and monitoring practices. CLC is pleased to have had the opportunity to feed in to the report through the Department of Education’s reference group and the NI Commissioner for Children and Young People’s advisory group.

“Effective and timely implementation of the recommendations is now key. The young people affected, and the parents and carers who have fought for change, all deserve to see progress. We cannot continue to allow children’s rights to be breached in this way. The current framework has fallen well short of international human rights standards and this is the first step towards addressing that.

“CLC looks forward to ongoing engagement on the implementation of positive change to realise and protect the legal rights of children and young people in education settings.”

Read a report on the recommendations by thedetail.tv

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